Recently, a chameleon has been discovered in the island country of Madagascar by scientists from Germany and Madagascar. It may be the world’s smallest adult reptile.
Context
Recently, a chameleon has been discovered in the island country of Madagascar by scientists from Germany and Madagascar. It may be the world’s smallest adult reptile.
About
- Scientists have named it Brookesia nana.
- The body of the male specimen appeared to be just 13.5-millimetres-long (a little more than a 1/2-inch.)
- That’s at least 1.5 millimetres smaller than the previous record-holder, another member of the Brookesia family.
What are Chameleons?
- Chameleons (Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards.
- They are best known for their ability to change body colour. Other characteristics of chameleons include
- zygodactylous feet (with toes fused into opposed bundles of two and three)
- acrodont dentition (with the teeth attached to the edge of the jaw)
- eyes that move independently
- atrophied venomglands that produce harmless trace amounts of venom
- a long, slender projectile tongue.
- Chameleons are threatened by deforestation on Madagascar, which is home to numerous species.
Chameleon Scientific Classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Reptilia
- Order: Squamata
- Family: Chamaeleonida
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